Favorite coffee drinks or cafe experience in Europe.

In Vienna I like a grosser brauner, though I think younger people don't call it that anymore. Double espresso served on a little silver tray with a tiny pitcher of warm milk and a glass of water.

My favourite in Vienna is the wiener melange, which is a bit like a flat white. One of the ones with whipped cream, like a kapuziner or franziscaner, are good, too.

You can't go wrong when it comes to cafes, but I tend to avoid the ones with constant line ups, like the Cafe Central. There is a decent one in the middle of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, that makes a nice break between sections.

At home I use a French press, which is easy enough to find in Europe. I like cream in my coffee, and not milk, especially the gross low/no fat stuff. So where only little sachets of low fat milk are available I'll go with a cappuccino.

A simple cafe con leche in Spain is all I need, and I’m not referring to the kind made from a machine in the room or breakfast buffet.

I’m not trying to be some sort of contrarian or anything but Honestly coffee culture in Europe is so overrated imo.

Italian espresso is garbage. Mostly freeze dried old coffee. It’s caffeine, that’s about it. It’s not an enjoyable drink, it’s mostly a novelty imo.

In my extensive European travel the #1 tip I can make is look for a place that can do Latte art in the reviews. Odds are if they are doing latte art they are using at
Least DECENT coffee. Then go deeper and look for a shop that does its own roasting etc.

Boutique coffee shops/roasters where the barista actually knows about coffee is where you get a good coffee. Whether this be an americano, Latte, etc depending on how much they know and their availability and freshness of the coffee they stock determines the final product.

I must have terrible taste in coffee because I love a fresh pulled Italian espresso, standing at a counter in Italy - LOL! Otherwise an occasional cappuccino which can be a hit or miss.

We didn’t go into any of the special cafes in Vienna, but the coffee at our hotel, Hotel Am Stephansplatz, was very good. It’s a beautiful city; have a great time!

I love the coffee in Spain, Italy and Germany. Even in Frankfurt we have at least 3 places roasting their own beans and they have been around for decades if not longer. Super high quality coffee.
The coffee I have had in France and Belgium has been horrible, but perhaps have not gone to the right places.

Looking forward to my next caffee con leche or cortado every morning in April and May on my Camino!

At home in Munich I'm using a French Press and some great coffee from my preferred local roaster (Supremo located in a Munich suburb). Together with foamed milk I would say this is my favorite :-)

But in every country I visit I follow their coffee tradition. So just returning from Venice yesterday it had to be of course Cappuccino until lunch and Espresso the rest of the day.

The famous Viennese coffeehouses are not about the taste of the coffee but about the ambiance of the coffeehouse. It is a UNESCO heritage protected culture, as you likely know - the ability to sit in a booth and linger over a newspaper. Unfortunately, most of the Insta-famous coffeehouses now in Vienna (Demel, Sacher, Central) have long lines and tourists are pumped out in a fashion entirely opposite of the intended and protected culture.

If you want good coffee in Vienna, then you need to visit places that are not traditional coffeehouses. This list is really spot-on - https://viennawurstelstand.com/guide/specialty-coffee-in-vienna/. Balthazar is my personal favorite.

If you want ambiance, then visit the traditional coffeehouses. I will not tell you here my favorites, which will remain my secret, special places. That said, Gerstner is absolutely mind-blowingly beautiful. Landtmann is classic Vienna. Sperl has the best apfelstrudel and is my favorite (of the ones I mention). Kaffee Alt Wien, Cafe Diglas (on Wollzeile) and any branch of Aida are tops on my list too.

Have fun.

My fav is a special balance cappuccino from my Melitta TS Barista machine with Caffe Rossa beans and a fresh Pain au Raisin on my sofa at home.

Second is an espresso at a fav bar in Vicenza in Italy. Every morning. Great local vibe...

Thank you for the varied and interesting comments. I must say a few of you have educated me on another way to appreciate coffee.
Emily I am very appreciative for your comments and link. I had no idea there were so many cafe options for me in Vienna. I will explore a few each day. Thank you.

Sitting by the window at Cafe Panis late in the evening enjoying a Port, Tea or a Chocolate Gourmand sample and looking out across the street at Notre Dame and folks & vehicles going by.

Coffe is so necessary. But it is always expensive. And who really only wants one cup, it adds up.
The ability to “linger” is so overblown when your coffee gets cold or you sit with an empty cup. Those cups are rather on the small side also. I guess it is a leaned experience to sit for hours with an empty cup and people watch.
I have not learned it yet.
Better to have wine or beer. Not much more (maybe less) and certainly does not matter the temp as much.
All in all a favorite is based on cost as much as anything.

I don't know if it still exists. But in the 1980s, I had early stand-up breakfasts in neighborhood bars in both Paris and in Reggio nel Emilia. The pastries and the savories (perhaps heated up on the premises, I don't know how recently baked they were) were a bit greasy, but less so than American egg-and-swine sandwiches. And the camaraderie (even with language barriers) was palpable.

Returning for business a couple of years later, I had brought a sleeve of "Happy to Serve You" Greek-diner takeout cups. When I presented one and asked, "da portare via, per piaccere", they looked at me like I was from the planet Mars. Why would I give up that fellowship, and the china cup, for a lukewarm sip on the way to work?

Another one who looks forward to “overrated Italian coffee culture” !
I love my cappuccinos all over Italy!
Also a very hot Americano with a side of very hot milk.
My travel friend and I spend our whole trips in Italy searching for the hottest, best tasting, able-to-sit-down-and-drink -it-without-paying-more coffee.
It’s become a game over the years!
We usually find the winner on the last day of the trip, of course! ;)
It’s usually in the most modest Mom and Pop bar/cafe.

The coffee I have had in France and Belgium has been horrible

Ms Jo -- my Italian, coffee-aficionado husband, who has lived here in France for more than 20 years, agrees.

I will say though that over the past few years in Paris lots more places that are serious and make good coffee have popped up. So you can find a good cup -- you just can NOT expect it at every single cafe, bistro, and brasserie.

Coffe is so necessary. But it is always expensive. And who really only wants one cup, it adds up.

In Italy it is often 1€ to 1,50€ per espresso. Not that expensive.

The coffee I have had in France and Belgium has been horrible, but perhaps have not gone to the right places.

Seeing Kim's comment about Ms. Jo's post, I went back up.

You two ladies, and Kim's husband are right as rain.

Muck. Pure unadulterated Muck. And to think - my Mother used to love the coffee in Paris. hmmm. Maybe it was because it was during the war and coffee was rationed - terribly rationed - in England, and she was working for the Americans at Ike's HQ (first billeted at the George V and then Versailles). She never linked the two. I wonder....

my wife has just reminded me that when we stayed in Colmar, Alsace, the breakfast coffee was so bad, and the coffee at the bakery just down the road too, we drove each morning across the river to - wait for it - the McDonalds just across the border to get something drinkable, and then drove back. It was handy that the McDs had a McCafe.

Cafe con leche in Spain is heavenly. I don't know whether it's the milk or the beans, but I can never make as good a cup at home as they do in Spain. Delicious

We went to a Starbucks in Paris and I loved how the default mode was to serve it in a mug. Back then you had to ask for it to go. Very unlike the US where everything is takeaway at Starbucks.

While English coffee has come a long way, it's still my least favorite country to get a coffee. But they do a proper cuppa. No weak tea.

Glad to see some here have caught on to the merits of Spanish coffee :) certainly just as good as Italian and French counterparts, but perhaps less well known in non-Hispanic countries, here is a short primer:

Café con leche: similar to café au lait

Café cortado: similar to espresso

Carajillo: coffee with a shot of rum, whisky or brandy no milk

Cremat: rum mixed with cinnamon and roasted coffee beans then flambéed, from Catalonia.

In the States, I think the best places to try Spanish style of coffee would be in a Cuban or Colombian restaurant.

I recall our first visit to Italy. Our tour was staying in Serre di Rapolano at a Tuscan farm house. We each had our own apartment. Our Italian guide gave us all a tutorial on how to use a “Moka Pot.” When in Italy I enjoy a good Cappuccino. At home I use a French Press with dark French Roast (Peets Coffee) is my favorite that I enjoy black.

One more Vienna tip - look at this menu (English) carefully from Aida. Page 5 has a great visual of the typical coffee choice in Vienna, which will ring true for any place here serving coffee. https://aida.at/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/aida_speisekarte-07-18.pdf

A couple of hotels in our November Spain trip had Nespresso machines in the rooms. I got addicted. I have had Nespresso in other trips and always liked them. When I looked into buying a machine years ago, I was turned off by the high price of the pods. Now, Nespresso's original pod patent has expired. As a result, a lot of competitors are selling compatible pods and the price has come down a lot. I can even buy Bestpresso pods made in Spain on Amazon. I like the convenience and the near-expresso experience. I bought a Nespresso bundle from Costco. The Aerocinno milk frother is fast to heat up milk and make a professional looking capucinno or latte. It's not like a $1000 expresso machine, but more than good enough for a morning or after dinner cup.

Our favorite coffee is in Israel. It's fabulous! We loved Spain and and France's coffee but were disappointed several times in Italy.

Coffee is a cultural experience in many places. Coffee rarely is as good as McLaughlin Celebes run through my Moccamaster.
If I had to take a pick one I did not prepare, I'd have to rank a good properly prepared and shared Turkish coffee as the best.

one of my favorite things about travel in Italy is the coffee culture. Ceramic cups even at the stand up coffee only joints. I was drinking 6 espresso a day.

My favorite cafe experience…an early morning cappuccino at a cafe on Piazza della Rotonda in Roma, very near the Pantheon, just because..

I am literally counting down the days until I can have a bicerin in Turin. https://www.lacucinaitaliana.com/italian-food/italian-dishes/bicerin-traditional-coffee-small-glass?refresh_ce=

I might be a wine snob, and I might be a bicycle snob, but purposely am not a coffee snob (which is hard in the PNW, where calling perfectly good coffee garbage is an all seasons sport). I figure you can't geek out on everything - only so many hours in the day. Plus coffee happens several times each and every day, and if I was a con-azz-sewer I'd be disappointed far too regularly.

So in that spirit my favorite coffees in Europe come from those hotel breakfast room machines that grind the beans when you push the button. I like a small cup of regular coffee, like 6-8oz with a splash of milk or cream. If it looks on the more watery side I'll get an espresso as well, pour some to all of it into my coffee until suitably dense. Mwah, chef's kiss, magnifique!!!

Plus they are already paid for. I'd drink three of them if the caffeine didn't make me jump out of my skin :)

OP Greg I feel you on the Nescafe love. You'd never think freeze dried would be okay, but in the right Mediterranean setting it actually hits me as good. Morning on the patio in Perissa Beach? Yes please.